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Lelo
Nika
There
is really no point in trying to describe the artistry of
I.elo Nika. Even if you try your best to find the right
words, even if you are totally amazed by this young artist
after having heard and seen him. you will never be able to
communicate your innermost feelings to somebody who has not
yet been initiated. Calling Lelo a "master" only seems idle
and banal. To fully understand, you must experience Lelo
Nika yourself Lelo
Nika is way beyond technical challenges ad virtuosity. He is
one hundred per cent expression, But it is nat only about
expressing feelings; sudden changes from sorrow into joy.
from dispair into victory, from melancholy into euphoria,
are also conveyed by other musicians from various genres.
Lelo Nika gives you something more. Through his instrument
he gives birth to stories that fire your imagination even if
you should happen to be quite unimaginative. Glimpses of the
past Balkan places, people on the run jealousy, happiness,
misery and celebration. Brilliantly colourful pictures are
succeeded by sober haze, dream and reality become
one. Lelo
Nika's background is as varied as his musical palette. He is
by origin a Serbian gypsy but has adopted Romanian
traditions through his roots in the polyethnic village of
Nikolinci, eighty kilometers north-east of Belgrade, where
the majority Is Romanian. In 1970, the one-year-old Lelo
moved with his parents to Denmark and settled in
Helsingør. Today. he lives in Malmo in the south of
Sweden. At the age of five Lelo Nika got his first accordion
from his father, who is also an accordionist and whose
family is well known for its gypsy music traditions passed
down through generations. Lelo was brought up wlth music as
a natural everyday element, music was a way of life a way al
communicating, irrespective ot situation, place or hour.
Techical qualities were never ends in themselves, simply
means to attain total expression, His father was Nika's
first accordion teacher and brought his son to Yugoslavia
when he was ten years old. Lelo stayed there for three
years, studying under the Serbian accordionist Branimir
Dokic and going deeply into Slavic and Romanian culture.
There is no doubt that this stay in Yugoslavia played a
crucial part in Lelo Nika's progress, both as a musician and
a human being. But a single person that has been very
important for Lelo Nika is his father's teacher. Mr. Ionel
Corneanu, who was very demanding and taught Lelo once and
for all the meaning of discipline. Lelo
Nika plays music from the whole of the Balkan but in his
very own way, based on a particular groove that is typical
of modern Romanian gypsy music. He has also performed and
recorded with jazz celebrities such as Adam Nussbaum, Jerry
Bergonzi, Randy Brecker, Jan Ralke and Manolo Badrena. He
has competed twice in the Accordion World Championship and
won both times. Just make yourself comfortable "If you can
sit still" and let yourself be seduced by one of the
greatest accordion phenomenons of our times. Lelo
Nika Biography courtesy of [C] dB
Productions Sweden Inc.
/ Erik Nilsson Thanks
to: Gea Marotta (Emmeci
Srl)
Clicca qui per la versione
italiana di questa pagina
Joe Zawinul Site - Musicians
Lelo Nika
Lelo
Nika with the Zawinul Special Project in L'Aquila (Italy),
August 25 of 2000
Photo by Marco Piretti